Have CAMC over priced some sites
Just stayed mid August on the Chatsworth site costing over £35 per night for two people on a standard pitch. During the week there were many unused pitches and even at weekends there were several not taken. Very few children and those there seemed to be with grandparents. August has to be the busiest month and previously you had to book Chatsworth well in advance to have any hope of getting a pitch. A very nice site with superb wardens but it would seemed getting far too expensive. Surely better to charge less and fill a site to maintain profit margins than overprice and have reduced members attending.
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If you think that is bad take a look at the late availability for the weekend after the forthcoming Bank Holiday.
Cirencester in excess of 122 pitches
Moreton in the Marsh - over 100 pitches.
I know some will say what do you expect so soon after a Bank Holiday but it may also be down to the fact that they are still asking High Season prices!!
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well maybe but I've been on a club site costing more than that (same period) and it was full of families all the time.
I think perhaps you have answered your own question, it was mainly few children with grandparents so not a particularly family location site? Just grandparents on looking after kids perhaps with those kids having had their main holiday with their parents at a more suitable site, and earlier too, most families I've found take the first three weeks of the school holidays.
Looking at the availability it is full more often than not for the rest of august and mostly every weekend well into October. What's the surrounding sites doing I wonder?
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yes burt you forgot to mention they were both full over the BH weekend?
I'm not sure the weekend just before schools restart is going to be particularity popular, what wound you have expected occupancy rates to be?
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I accept they are full over the BH weekend but would you not expect that anyway.
Let me make the question even simpler, do you think that the weekend after the final BH of the year justifies it being classed as peak? A Yes/no answer will suffice.
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No!!
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well you didn't ask that in the first place did you burt? And nothing to do with the OP, maybe start a new thread if that is your interest?
Actually peak prices/off peak prices do not affect me in the slightest. If I wanted to go away that weekend to a particular site I would go.
But yes I think its reasonable to still be in peak, it's part of the six weeks school holidays, some could have booked a week to include the BH on the Monday, the club should seek to maximise it's income. Or do you think that it wasn't peak there would be a significantly more people booking?
The thing is that is the price set by the club, pay it or go elsewhere? No one is forced to go and pay are they? Why not go on the Monday and save your self a good few pounds?
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excellent win win all round if true.
But out of interest how do you know that? Do you have the figures for bookings this year and last year to make such a statement? Could be just normal, there are highs and lows in any season.
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I wouldn't expect them to be very good CS, which begs the question why the CC have included this in peak. Personally I do think they have extended it to far.
What will be interesting is the availability figures for the 6/9 - 9/9 which is into the shoulder season. Although the dates are shown I assume the figures won't be available until tomorrow. If they are better than the weekend before, it would tend to suggest that they should not of included the 30/8 - 2/9 within peak.
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I've posted some possible reasons above.
Now in peak Moreton costs £35.5 for a couple, On the Monday it will cost £27.60, saving of £6.90. Now imagine there are 100 couples on site that peak weekend. If the club had the cheaper price it would lose £690 in income, to make that up it would have to get in 25 more couples at the cheaper price to break even, do you think there are 25 couples who would come at the cheaper price at that time of year?
OK I've chosen 100. There are, according to LA, 80 pitches occupied so the club would lose £552 per night or £1104 per weekend if it had the cheaper price that weekend, then do the same for all sites across the network.
It may not be that easy to just say cut peak periods and the club will make more money? It may attract more but enough to make as much money as before?
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Where we are staying ,there has been a big change over today, even more next Thursday as there are numerous on here who are hoping to extend through the Bank holiday weekend, but unless there are quite a few cancellations then they cannot stay after Thursday
There are numerous grand parents with children staying with them,and also it seems one adult with children as they came with their partner who has or is returning home to go to work returning for next weekend, one has even gone back on the train to Peterborough, leaving the car for use by his OH, until he comes back,on friday ,
It seems because of pressures of work these days holiday patterns are changing,when children are off school
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The availability figures are now there for the 6/9 - 9/9. As it is of particular interest I have looked at Cirencester. Over the weekend of the 30/8 - 2/9 the average occupancy is 87. Which using the standard pitch figure would bring in £2627 a day. Whilst for the 6/9 - 9/9 the average occupancy is 123, which would bring in £3100.
Therefore at this site at least, the club would probably be better off if they started the shoulder season 3 days earlier.
I am sure there will be sites, in more summer holiday locations, where the reverse is true. All I am suggesting is that there are a lot of non holiday destination sites that would benifit from an earlier start to the shoulder season.
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Yes.
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I doubt it. Personally I go away at the times I choose, If you told me I could have this next weekend free it wouldn't make any difference. It is a bit like offers such as 7 days for the price of 5 .... I don't want 7, I want 5. Or Fantastic offers on a site located where it doesn't suit my travel plans ..... pointless. I personally doubt that mid week discounts affect many folks choice of site.
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I think you would be very surprised.
Within caravaning their are different groups who choose a site for different reasons. For me its location, cheap is a bonus, for others it's cheap, location being a bonus, and so on.
Difficult to hit the balance, but as I point out, not just club sites but lots earn their money on weekend trade. Most of the sites around York owned by who ever, including seasonal pitches, only are really busy either when a horse race is on (boggles me) or average to good weekend weather.
Again having a no deposit booking system with easy cancellation has to cost the CMC lost money which can only be recouped with higher site fees, bit like insurance, so one claims we all end up paying that bit more in premiums.
But as a paying member, the answer are fees too high, then the answer has to be yes, always yes
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At £35+ per night, I wouldn't stay there whatever the date on the calendar or the location.
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Therefore at this site at least, the club would probably be better off if they started the shoulder season 3 days earlier.
That is pure speculation, you are assuming that the same number of people would want to go on the earlier weekend as the later, is that true? or are not going due to the higher price? We just don't know.
A lot say that they will not go to sites during school holidays and the earlier weekend would be classed as that. Historically it is perhaps just not a popular weekend?
Had the club charged the off peak price it would lose £868 in income, why should it do that? Are you certain it would get 17 extra outfits on that weekend?
Now 'multiply' that lost income across the network and still happy?
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A lot say that they will not go to sites during school holidays and the earlier weekend would be classed as that.
Lots of families want to get the kids 'ready for school' in the last week of the holidays. We often start our tour around 27th July
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Sorry Steve, you can cut and dice the figures any way you like, but the truth is that the members writing/reading this forum represent a very very small small percentage of the overall club membership, and IMHO are not representative of how club sites are used, I for one never tour at all during mid July & August, in fact i seldom use club sites except when somebody buys me vouchers for birthdays etc, so with this is mind I think it very unlikely that the club will take into consideration concerns raised within this forum. I think you should also remember that gone are the days when people flocked enmass, from, in particular, industrial towns and cities at pre-set dates to take summer holidays, today peoples holidays both school and work are much more flexible.
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I agree with your last comment, but despite this extra flexibility for families, the club rigidly sticks to its calendar price profile, other than to periodically (sneakily) extend peak and/or shoulder (where did we get these from?...) periods.
whilst the forum may not contain vast numbers of members, prices are still one of the (if not the...) most grumbled about subject, with usually several threads open concurrently.
although I don't look at them as I'm not interested personally, it seems the 'availability' figures are starting to show sites aren't as full as in the past and I now get 'begging' emails from cc to visit these places (hurry, be quick etc....).
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Indeed it is speculation CS. Just as you are speculating that folk wouldn't start their September tours earlier, or perhaps just go for the weekend. Unless the Club remove that weekend from peak, we will never know and my speculation is as valid as anyone else's.
Another extension of peak that occurred a few years ago is equally perplexing. The first May BH Monday is peak, it only became so about two years ago. Previously it had only been the Friday - Sunday. When we have been on sites at this time, on the Monday night it has been almost empty, as working folk have to return to work on the Tuesday, so leave on the Monday. The Tuesday is a different story with many arrivals as the prices are significantly reduced,
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our budget is 25 pound a night
On 9 Club sites in April, May, June, July, Sept we paid (or will do) £25 or under. One other site was £26 and our first site over Easter holiday was £31. We have certainly paid as much or more on the private/commercial sites this year.
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